Tag Archives: Joy

The Fruit Of The Root

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THE FRUIT OF THE ROOT

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.”  Galatians 5:22-25.

Thankfully there is a counterpart to the nasty evidences of our corrupt hearts. Since Jesus came to take away sin, so said the Apostle John, it is possible for us to live sin-free lives. That does not mean that we are perfect. Far from it; but it does mean that we are not locked into a sinful lifestyle because we are powerless to do otherwise.

With the Holy Spirit resident in us, He changes us, slowly but surely into the Image of Jesus. In contrast to the “acts of the flesh”, which focus on the symptoms of corrupt hearts, Paul lists the work of the Spirit in us as “fruit”. What is the difference?

Jesus used the imagery of the vine and the branches. What do the branches need to do to bear grapes? Nothing. They simple remain attached to the vine. Anything that causes the branch to become detached will kill it. It will have to be pruned off because it has become useless.

What do we need to do to become fruitful? Nothing except to remain in the vine. Jesus even tells us how to remain in Him.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me, and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask what you wish, and it will be done for you…As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love.” John 15:5, 7, 9.

Keeping His commandments is the key to remaining in Jesus. But, you may object, isn’t that exactly what Paul said we don’t have to do – to obey the law? Isn’t it the same thing? Not at all. There is a great deal of difference between keeping the law in order to become righteous and keeping Jesus’ commands because we are already righteous.

If we are trying to become righteous by obeying the law, we have failed before we even start. We cannot change the imperfect to the perfect by our own effort because we still have the problem of guilt for our past sin even if we could be perfect from now on. There is a debt to pay and we can do nothing to pay it. God cannot overlook sin because He is a just God. He must deal with transgression of the law.

On the other hand, if someone else pays our debt to God and we are justified and set free from sin’s penalty, we are now indebted to our benefactor. Out of gratitude to Him and love for Him, we do what He instructs us because that is how love is expressed. Love is not love if we go on living the old way. Real love values what Jesus values and hates what He hates. Real love identifies so closely with Jesus that we become one with Him in what He desires.

The law was intended to show us what God is like and to teach us how to be like Him. It didn’t work because all the law did was to provoke to action the rebellion in our sinful natures. Jesus got rid of the law as a requirement for righteousness by fulfilling it for us and then removing the root of sin in our hearts. He replaced it with His own nature – the nature of a son who lives in loving submission and obedience to to the Father, and restored His Spirit to us.

“Now,” said Paul, “you are free to love Him and to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading because you old nature has been put to death.” Your life in union with Jesus will produce the fruit of the root; love, joy, peace – the outflow of your restored relationship with God; patience, kindness, goodness – your attitude to other people; faithfulness, meekness and self-control – your attitude towards yourself.

What is your root? Is it Jesus or is the old selfish nature still in charge?

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

A Place For The Gentiles

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A PLACE FOR THE GENTILES

“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:

‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.’

And again it says,

‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with His people.’

And again,

‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the people extol Him.’

And again, Isaiah says,

‘The root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in Him the Gentiles will hope.’

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:8-13.

It’s all very well, Paul, for you to explain the intricacies of God’s righteousness but on what grounds do we Gentiles have the right to think that we also have a share in the mercy of God? After all, God is the God of the Jews. He chose them to be His people and we were not included in His covenant with Abraham.

Oh, really! Was that God’s intention? To have a little group of people whom He could mollycoddle and leave the rest to rot in hell? Never! The whole purpose of His choice of Israel was for them to be a model for the Gentiles, so that they would see, mirrored in His people, the nature of God and believe in Him as well. Once He had sent His Messiah to earth through His people, He would throw the door open for the whole world to believe in Him.

Paul’s triumphant declaration of hope for the Gentiles was based squarely on God’s eternal plan, begun with Abraham and fulfilled in Christ, so that the people of the world, not only the Jews, would be members of His family and citizens in His kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy.

Embedded in His covenant with Abraham was the promise that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The promises of God extended far beyond him and his descendants.

“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3.

Has God ever withdrawn His promise? On the contrary, Paul reassured his Romans readers:

“…For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29.

There is a warning for the nations today in God’s irrevocable promise to Abraham. The world is being polarised over the conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians in Israel. Most of the nations side with the Palestinians because they regard Israel as intruders with no right to be in the land of Israel. On the surface, without taking into consideration the promise of God, it may seem so, but from God’s perspective the land of Israel belongs to the Jews because He gave it to them forever.

“I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:7, 8.

There is an extended prophecy in Zechariah 12:1-14; 13:1 that is yet to be fulfilled and seems on the brink of fulfilment even as I write. As the nations gather against Jerusalem, God will intervene to protect His people and destroy those who are trying to destroy them. The wars of the 1960’s bear witness to God’s protection and victory in the face of overwhelming odds.

Just as God promised His protection of His people, so He promised that the Gentiles would also have a place in His kingdom. And so, Paul could reassure all his Gentile readers, not only the Roman church then, but also every Gentile down the centuries, that our hope is based on the solid truth of God’s promise and Paul’s prayer:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Not Of This World

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NOT OF THE WORLD 

“‘I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

“‘I have given them your word and the world has hated them, they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

“‘My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world even as I am not of the world.'” John 17:13-16 NIV.

Strange! The way the disciples were thinking and behaving at that moment, I would have thought that Jesus would realise that they were very much still part of the world — frightened, insecure, unbelieving, uncomprehending, competitive, bickering, indifferent — that about sums them up at this stage.

Amazing! Jesus saw them not as they were then but as they would be as they moved towards their potential as apostles and witnesses for Him in the world. He spoke prophetically and confidently of who they would become when the Holy Spirit fell on them and transformed them into bold, confident and faithful followers of their Messiah.

Jesus had spent three and a half years with them, patiently giving them God’s word. As young Jewish men they would already have memorised the book of Leviticus by the age of 6 and the entire Torah by the time they celebrated their Bar Mitzvah. The foundation of truth was already firmly laid in their minds in their formative years.

During His time with them it was Jesus’ task to teach them His yoke — His way of interpreting and applying the Torah to His own life, and instilling it into His disciples so that they would imitate Him as they, in turn, made disciples of others. It was their task, in turn to release them from whatever “yoke” had brought them into bondage and place His yoke on them, setting them free from rules, regulations and obligations to live as sons and daughters of the Most High God — what Jesus called “binding and loosing”.

It was this yoke of loving God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength and showing mercy and compassion to all people, that would, first of all, bring the hatred of an unbelieving world down on them, alienating them from the heartless and selfish attitude that rules in the world system. It was this yoke as well, that would insulate them from the temptation of the evil one to live for themselves and indulge their old, selfish nature.

God’s protection from the evil one comes, not in some mystical or angelic guard around us so that the devil can’t get near us. It comes in the form of changed lives that flow from changed minds as God’s truth about Himself and us gradually replaces our old ways of thinking and acting. Our enemy operates in our minds, sowing lies and trying to deceive us into thinking the worst about God and ourselves.

We erroneously think that the devil attacks us through our circumstances. When things go wrong we wail, ‘O-o-oh, I’m under attack!’ Really! Yes, we are under attack, but not because of trouble and hardship but because we misinterpret these things and get into fear and panic mode, which are exactly what the devil relishes because they neturalise our confidence in the Father’s love.

Remember, Jesus said, ‘In this world you will have trouble’?  This is a statement of fact. But God permits and monitors the hardships we endure because He has another agenda. If we give the devil credit for the trouble we experience, we miss the whole point of the exercise.

Firstly, God wants to see what is in our hearts, whether we will trust Him or not.

“Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commandments. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Deuteronomy 8:2, 3 NIV.

Secondly, God is disciplining us as sons so that we may share His holiness.

“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?…They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness.” Hebrews 12:7, 10 NIV.

We have only one safeguard against the devil’s wiles — knowing and living by the truth.

David put it this way:

“Teach me your way, O Lord; and I will walk in your truth…” Psalm 86:11a.

No Atheists In Foxholes

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NO ATHEISTS IN FOXHOLES 

“‘In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.'” John 16:23, 24 NIV.

People pray. God created human beings to be dependent on Him. Even those who repudiate Him and substitute gods of their own creation, pray. There is an inborn need to connect with someone greater than ourselves whether it be our own possessions or achievements, or some figment of our imagination we call “god”, we pray.

Whether the saying “No atheists in foxholes” most often attributed to war correspondent Ernie Pyle during WW1, (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_no_atheists_in_foxholes) is true or not, even those who claim to be atheists use the title of a being they say does not exist, in a crisis!

But that is not true biblical prayer. Prayer is not prayer unless it happens in the context of a Father/son relationship with God, fostered by intimacy and worship. Many people treat God as some sort of celestial 911 emergency service. He’s always around, but they do not need Him until a crisis arises.

Jesus was speaking to His disciples about a love relationship with the Father based on the reconciliation He would make possible by His sacrifice. We are sons, yes, but in the far country of rebellion and unbelief, living in the “pigsty” of worldly ways. Before we can treat God as our Father, we need to return home and be reconciled to Him in order to be restored as sons. We owe Him an unpayable debt which Jesus, our elder brother, paid on our behalf so that we can return and be restored to the family.

“In my name” is much more than a magic formula to tack on to the end of a prayer to ensure that we get the answers we want. In Biblical thought, a name is a prophetic utterance of character. Everything God is, is enshrined in His name and He has invested all of Himself in the name of Jesus.

“Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” Philippians 2:9, 10a NIV.

Therefore to ask in the name of Jesus is much more than a quick addition at the end of a prayer. It is a thoughtful evaluation of what I am asking against the character, will and mission of Jesus so that my request is in harmony with who He is and what His will and purpose is for my life and my circumstances in the bigger picture of His kingdom. Perhaps, if we were to view our prayers from His perspective rather than demanding what we want, there would be fewer disappointments and a greater understanding and participation in the affairs of His kingdom on earth.

The criterion for the joy that flows from answered prayer is found in His prescription in John 15. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:7-8 NIV.

Jesus taught His disciples that prayer is much more than praying the “no-atheist-in-foxholes” kind of prayer. God, in His mercy, might answer that kind of prayer but He is not obliged to because prayer, first and foremost, is the expression of a love relationship between Father and sons. Those who are outside of Christ cannot experience true prayer. The best they can do is try to gain the attention of, or manipulate a non-existent god, leaving them empty and frustrated.

The joy that follows answered prayer is the joy that flows from relationship; from a loving Father who delights to share His provision and resources with His beloved sons and daughters as they partner with Him in the business of His kingdom.

From Grief To Joy

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FROM GRIEF TO JOY 

“Jesus went on to say, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then, after a little while you will see me.’  At this, some of His disciples said to one another, ‘What does He mean by saying, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,” and “Because I am going to the Father”?’ They kept asking, ‘What does He mean by “a little while”? We don’t understand what He is saying.'” John 16:17-18 NIV.

As fully aware of His impending suffering and death on the cross as Jesus was, so unaware the disciples were. They had consistently shut their minds to what He had told them was to happen to Him at the hands of the religious leaders. Not even the Passover meal they had just eaten which He had fleshed out to point to His sacrifice as God’s Passover lamb, had alerted them to the ordeal He was shortly to face.

Now the time was almost on Him. No even the darkness of the olive grove could shield Him from the motley army that was gathering in the city to arrest Him and drag Him off to the Sanhedrin for the mockery of a trial. How desperately He wanted to reassure His disciples that His death was a temporary interruption that would issue in very far reaching results for them and for the world.

Had they heeded His words on the many occasions He had told them that He would be killed and would rise again on the third day, what He was now telling them would have been quite easily understood. Going away, as in death, where they would not be able see Him in His human body…and returning to them, as in a resurrection body, where they would once again see Him…for us is all so simple, but for them a complete mystery.

During His earthly ministry they had seen Him raise the dead more than once. Only a few days previously, Lazarus had walked out of the tomb after his body had already begun the process of decay! But He was there in person, doing the miracle by a word or a touch. To understand and believe that He would die and rise again was too much to accept and so His words sounded like nonsense to them.

“Jesus saw that they wanted to ask Him about this, so He said to them, ‘Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’?

“‘Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.'” John 16:19-22 NIV.

The resurrection of Jesus is the hope of every person who believes in Him. For the disciples is was His death that brought them inconsolable grief because they thought it was the end of the road for them. But after the grief came the joy and a joy that would never leave them because their Master was alive and He could never die again.

As human beings in a fallen world, we are all subject to the pain of physical and emotional suffering and loss but the promise of God’s Word is that there is a resurrection and there is a hope. After grief comes joy. Unlike the experience of people in the world who may participate in the passing pleasures the world offers, like the world in its present state, they are as transient as wild flowers in the field.

“The life of mortals is like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” Psalm 103:15, 16 NIV.

“The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”  1 John 2:17 NIV.

“For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favour lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5 NIV.

As for the disciples, so for us, because Jesus is alive forever, we have the everlasting hope that our weeping will be turned to joy.